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| Criterion |  Operations 5 Whys |  Product Discovery Opportunity Scoring |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Decision Making Pareto Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description. | When opportunities need ranking by their effect, it makes importance and satisfaction directly comparable. It separates problem, assumption, solution, and evidence. The result is captured as an opportunity-score table and top outcomes. | When a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | In many problem situations, effect is distributed unequally across many causes. A Pareto Analysis separates the few drivers with high leverage from the long remainder and focuses attention on what measurably moves the needle. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 15-30 min | 60-120 min | 1-4 h | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 3-6 | 3-8 | 1-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Opportunity Score Table, Top Outcomes | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Pareto Chart, Top Causes, Focus List |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | PrioritizationDiscoveryOutcomesNeeds | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | PrioritizationQualityFocusRoot cause |